Real Estate Dev PM Consultant - LA Entitlements Expert in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
Contract vs. Full-Time: This is a consulting engagement, not a salaried role — compensation and benefits are entirely negotiable. For experienced real estate PMs, this structure offers autonomy and potentially higher hourly rates than equivalent full-time roles, but no job security, benefits, or equity. It's well-suited for independent consultants already running a practice.
Compensation Benchmarks: LA-based real estate development PM consultants typically command $90–$150/hr or $120K–$180K annualized equivalent depending on scope. The vague "to be determined" language means strong negotiators with entitlements experience will have leverage.
Skills You'll Build:
- Deep mastery of LA-specific entitlement and permitting workflows — a genuinely scarce and marketable skill set.
- Multidisciplinary consultant coordination (architects, engineers, land-use counsel) — transferable to any major metro.
- Affordable housing regulatory literacy, increasingly valuable as cities expand housing mandates.
Green Flags: High autonomy, ownership of full project phases, direct leadership exposure via Development Team Lead, and the ability to shape your own scope in the consulting agreement.
Red Flags: No stated rate or rate range, no mention of contract duration or project pipeline size, and the "limited onboarding" expectation signals they need someone who can hit the ground running immediately with minimal support. Vet the client's project backlog carefully before committing.
Location: Remote, with project-related travel and meetings as needed
Engagement: Consultant
Compensation: To be determined based on experience and scope
Primary Contact: Development Team Lead
About the Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced Development Project Manager consultant to independently manage front-end real estate development activities, with a particular emphasis on projects within the City of Los Angeles.
The role will coordinate entitlements, design, permitting, and development consultants while maintaining visibility into project schedules, soft-cost budgets, and approvals. This engagement requires someone who can assume ownership of assigned work with limited onboarding and move projects forward effectively. Affordable housing experience is preferred but not required.
Scope of Services
- Manage assigned development projects through applicable entitlement, design, and permitting phases.
- Develop and maintain project schedules, approval milestones, action logs, and deliverable tracking.
- Coordinate architects, engineers, land-use consultants, and other development professionals.
- Lead coordination with City of Los Angeles departments and other agencies to advance project approvals.
- Track applications, submissions, agency comments, resubmittals, and outstanding approval requirements.
- Review consultant proposals, scopes, schedules, and deliverables for alignment with project objectives.
- Monitor soft-cost budgets, consultant expenditures, and anticipated changes; flag variances and recommend corrective action.
- Identify development risks, approval barriers, and schedule impacts, and recommend practical solutions.
- Facilitate project meetings and maintain clear accountability for decisions and follow-up items.
- Provide regular updates on project status, budgets, upcoming milestones, and issues requiring leadership decisions.
- Coordinate with internal stakeholders to support transitions between development phases and handoff to construction, as applicable.
Requirements
- Direct experience managing front-end real estate development activities, including entitlements, design coordination, and permitting.
- Demonstrated experience navigating City of Los Angeles entitlement and permitting processes.
- Experience managing multidisciplinary consultants and coordinating with public agencies.
- Ability to manage multiple projects, competing deadlines, and complex approval requirements.
- Experience tracking development schedules and soft-cost budgets.
- Ability to independently identify issues, recommend solutions, and advance assigned deliverables.
- Strong communication, organization, negotiation, and follow-through skills.
- Availability to support agreed project milestones and attend necessary project or agency meetings.
Preferred Qualifications
- Affordable housing development experience.
- Experience managing multiple projects at different stages of development.
- Established familiarity with relevant City of Los Angeles departments and agency coordination.
- Bachelor's degree in real estate development, construction management, urban planning, architecture, engineering, business, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
Engagement Details
This opportunity is structured as a consulting engagement. Remote work is acceptable, and routine office attendance is not required. Project assignments, deliverables, anticipated capacity, engagement duration, compensation, and any travel requirements will be defined in the consulting agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a fully remote position or is in-person attendance required?
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